How to choose the right laptop for work. How to choose the perfect laptop: from office to gaming

Choosing a laptop for work is a pressing problem for a person who is forced to spend a lot of time at the computer and combine this with constant travel. In order for you to be able to work comfortably, we have formulated recommendations for selecting such a laptop, which will certainly pay for itself again and again.

What to rely on when choosing?

What should you pay attention to when choosing a laptop for work? Below are the main technical characteristics that you should pay attention to when choosing a laptop:

• Hard disk capacity
• RAM
• CPU frequency
• Video card
• Opening hours
• Availability of connectors for different purposes

If you don’t want to go into details, we offer you the optimal assembly of laptops for work:

What should be the size of the hard drive?

This parameter is especially important for designers, photographers, music video directors, etc. If you work mainly with office documents, then a large hard drive will only unnecessarily increase the price for something you will never use.

Hard drive capacity can be divided into three categories:

• 0-160 - work with documents.
• 160-500 - working with documents, working with images and videos in a small volume, watching and storing movies and music, computer games.
• 500-3000 - professional work with complex video and photo tools. Large amount of movie and music storage. Ideal for gamers, designers, architects, video makers, programmers.

For reference: a text of 40 pages fits in 150kb. On a regular laptop (500GB) you can fit around 3 and a half million documents, 40 pages each.

What kind of RAM should it be?

RAM is an equally important component. It largely determines how “fast” your laptop will work. This is where all the information that is used by the laptop at the “current moment” is stored.

Which choose a laptop for working with office documents? Laptop with at least 1400 MHz.

Integrated or discrete video card?

The video card is responsible for the quality of graphics. To watch TV series on the Internet, you will need a video card from almost any laptop. If your work involves image or video processing, or you are going to play modern demanding games on your laptop, then you need to choose a more powerful video card.

Most laptops use "integrated graphics cards" which help save power consumption. Such laptops are cheaper, but their parameters are quite sufficient for all basic purposes: office work, watching movies and various videos, playing games (at medium and low settings). Most Intel models have just such video cards. If you want to choose a cheaper laptop for work, we recommend that you pay attention to laptops with built-in graphics cards from Intel.

Discrete video cards (they are not built into the chipset) have more powerful performance, but they also cost more. In this case, it makes sense to overpay if you often work with graphics applications or videos, or if you are an avid gamer. Now on the market, the best of this series are considered to be ATI (AMD) Mobility Radeon series video cards and NVIDIA GeForce series.

If you want to learn more about it, follow the link.

If the nature of your work involves constant travel or you simply have nowhere to charge your laptop, no matter where you are constantly away from home, then stock up on models with larger batteries that can withstand at least 6 hours of battery life. If you just want to work while lying on the sofa or in a chair on the balcony, where there is an outlet nearby, then you can take a less “hardy” laptop. Recommended time is at least 6 hours.

What connectors does a laptop need?

Determine for yourself what will need to be connected to the laptop during work. A mouse, an external hard drive, a couple of flash drives - this already requires at least four USB ports. Do you like to use an additional monitor? Check for the correct connector.

What else is important to check before finally choosing a laptop for work? We recommend that you test the laptop in use immediately upon purchase. Try typing some text and see how comfortable the keyboard is. Read something from the monitor to determine if your eyes are hard on you or if you are getting tired. Listen to the sound through the speakers. Also make sure that you have an optical drive - some models are already available without one.

Recommended characteristics of the optimal laptop for work

In our opinion, the most optimal criteria for choosing a laptop for work will be :

• Hard disk capacity: 160 - 500
• RAM: 4GB
• Processor frequency: 2GHz - 3GHz
• Video card: integrated from Intel
• Working time: at least 6 hours
• Availability of connectors for different purposes: 4 usb, Hdmi, monitor connector

Additional purchases: In addition to a laptop for work, we recommend immediately purchasing the following items: mouse, bag or case, installation discs with software, monitor wipes. I hope we helped you figure out how to choose a laptop for work.

It's no secret that they often try to classify laptops by price and use. So, there are budget ones, there are gaming laptops, business laptops, fashion laptops... Are there ones that would be optimal for the home? Which laptop is better to buy for home use in 2017, so that it is universal, boots quickly, does not slow down when watching videos, allows you to communicate via the Internet, and is not alien to games? Let's try to look for these.

Selection criteria

As usual, we will conduct the conversation indicating specific models and modifications. No reasoning like “i7 processor is cooler than i5” or “memory should be 8 GB or more.” Or rather, there will be some reasoning, but supported by specific examples, characteristics and potential opportunities for upgrade.

All that remains is to decide on the criteria that a laptop for the home meets. But really, what does this concept include? Should it be a utilitarian laptop model with ample capabilities and a low price, just so you can quickly view photos, go to a site of interest, study a little, and have a little fun? Or should design still not take the last place? In the end, we choose a device for ourselves that we love, so that the laptop looks decent and wouldn’t be embarrassing in front of others?

I’ll say right away that Apple products are a separate conversation, and we won’t try to harness the “horse and the trembling doe.” However, I will split the selection into 2 parts. In the first, without paying special attention to the design of the devices, we will select a dozen (or more) interesting models, about which we can say “both a Swiss and a reaper,” and even a player on the pipe.

In the second (there will be another article, subscribe to the newsletter on the left side of the screen) we will make the design of the device one of the main criteria, we will select small laptops, the appearance of which can compensate for some weak points in the technical part.

By the way, in the comments it would be interesting to know about your vision of the ideal home laptop, your criteria by which you choose this or that model. Let's look together.

Now let’s limit the choice to 50 thousand rubles, but exclude budget models from consideration. The lower limit will be the amount of 20 thousand rubles.

Screen

We will limit the selection to models with screen sizes from 15 to 17 inches. The first ones are the best option for everyday use and are also quite suitable for taking them on trips. The dimensions and weight still allow this to be done.

17-inch ones are more comfortable due to their larger size, but most often their destiny is to stand on the desktop, or, in extreme cases, sit on the sofa. Carrying this “bandura” somewhere on a trip is already somewhat expensive.

The ideal option is FullHD screen resolution. I don’t see the point in a higher resolution, and the standard 1366x768 is not enough, but you can live with it.

CPU

We exclude from consideration budget options, such as Celeron, Pentium, AMD younger than A10. Still, we are already living in 2017, therefore, of all Intel processors, we will consider options with the “stones” of the last two generations, Skylake and Kaby Lake.

Memory

The optimum is 8 GB, but 4 GB is also quite suitable, especially if you plan in advance for a subsequent independent increase in volume. By the way, this is when you get a quite fast laptop with a minimum of 4 GB of memory, and if necessary and possible, add another 2, 4, 8 GB.

Moreover, you can speed up your computer not only by increasing the amount of RAM, but also by using a faster drive.

Storage

There are models with a traditional hard drive, and some with an SSD initially. The first option is cheaper, but slower, the second is faster, but more expensive and there is not much disk space. The choice here is individual, but this is another option for saving a little on a purchase and immediately being a reserve for a subsequent upgrade.

What do I mean? Buying a model with a 500 or 1000 GB hard drive will not amaze you with the speed of the disk subsystem, but you get a large amount of storage space for all sorts of things, and such a drive is inexpensive.

But in order for everything to “fly”, it is better to use an SSD drive, and an inexpensive budget-class model is quite suitable. The question is how to connect it. You can read about it in another material, but here I will express, in my opinion, the optimal solution to the problem of configuring disks.

You can always replace the installed hard drive with an SSD. You take out the one that came with the laptop, insert a solid-state drive, transfer the system to it and enjoy the loading speed and the speed of opening programs. One thing is sad - I had to give up 1000 GB of space and limit myself to, say, 256 GB of SSD capacity. What should you do with the removed disk?

You can use it as an external one by purchasing the appropriate box for it, but the best solution is to leave this drive in its place and look for a laptop model that has an M.2 connector. - You can also read in the corresponding article. As a result, we get a chic option, the system is installed on an SSD, for which M.2 is used, and the entire volume of the hard drive is used to store all the necessary rubbish.

So, the presence of an M.2 connector is a significant plus when choosing.

Video card

If you are interested in the opportunity to play, then you should consider options with a discrete video card of the GeForce 940M class and higher. Everything lower (920M, AMD R5-M230, AMD R5-M330 and others like them) is an extra burden and an additional “stove” in the laptop case. Of course, it will be difficult to call such a laptop a gaming laptop (although about models with GeForce 950M we can already say that this is an “entrance ticket” to the class of gaming laptops).

If you are not interested in games, or the requirements in this part are limited to something simple or old, then the capabilities of the graphics core integrated into the processor will be quite enough, especially since in the latest generations of CPU video cards are already of a decent level, although they cannot yet compete seriously with discrete ones .

operating system

Its presence or absence is a matter of convenience and an opportunity for savings. Naturally, a laptop without a pre-installed OS or with free Linux is cheaper than one with Windows 10 on board. If you prefer to install the system yourself, then why overpay for something you don’t need?

If you don’t want to tinker, then take it with the installed OS and you can use it right away.

Rest

The number of USB ports, the presence or absence of an optical drive, keyboard backlighting are perhaps important, but secondary parameters. Moreover, it is approximately the same for everyone.

Laptop models

Well, we’ve sorted out the criteria, let’s see what they offer us, and what might be of interest, let’s choose candidates for the role of a laptop for home use. Let me remind you that design in this case is secondary, as are the case materials, the brand of the laptop, and the quality of service for this brand.

Let's divide the choice by manufacturer.

Acer

Extensa EX2520G-39XP. About 25,000 rubles. The main argument is the cost, a good processor and GeForce 940M video card, and the lack of a pre-installed OS (for whom this is important). A sort of “constructor” for later increasing the amount of memory and installing the system. The downside is the lack of M.2 for the SSD drive.

ExtensaEX2520G-35L2. About 28,500 rub. The same thing, but with Windows 10 Home.

Extensa EX2520G-5063. About 32,000 rubles. The advantages are a FullHD screen, 6 GB of memory and an i5 processor with a GeForce 940M video card. All that remains is to install the system. The downside is the lack of M.2.

ExtensaEX2520G-53ZF. About 37,000 rubles. Similar to the previous one, but with Windows 10 “on board”.

ASUS

VivobookX556UQ. About 37,000 rubles. Unlike the Acer Extensa EX2520G-53ZF, it has a 1366x768 screen and an i3 processor. At the same price, the option is of little interest.

K501UQ-DM085T. About 42,000 rub. FullHD screen, i5 6200U processor, GeForce 940MX - one of the best offers in this configuration, especially for those who value the ability to install the OS themselves. It is advisable to increase the initial 4 GB. M.2 available.

K501UX. About 46,000 rubles. A very interesting option with a FullHD screen, an i5 6200U processor, a very decent GeForce 950M video card and an M.2 connector. No OS. Pre-installed Windows 10 increases the price by about 3.5 thousand rubles.

X756UQ-TY122T. About 48,000 rub. 17-inch model with good “filling”. Screen with HD+ resolution, i5 6200U processor, 6 GB of memory, GeForce 940MX video card, for undemanding games. There is no M.2 connector. For a laptop with this screen size, this is a good option.

DELL

Vostro 3568. About 35,000 rubles. the latest i5 7200U processor, 4 GB of memory, a rather weak discrete video card, no M.2 connector, Linux. In my opinion, the price does not correspond to the characteristics.

Vostro 5568-2990. About 46,000 rubles. Compared to the ASUS K501UX, it has a latest generation processor, but only 4 GB of memory, and a weaker video card - GeForce 940MX.

Latitude 3570-9060. About 47,500 rub. At a price comparable to the ASUS K501UX, there is no discrete graphics card and M.2 connector. I have no arguments in favor of this laptop.

Inspiron 5767-2693. About 50,000 rub. FullHD screen 17 inches, I5 7200U processor, 8 GB of memory, a good, although not gaming, video card R7 M445. The only downside is the lack of M.2. Overall, a very decent option for a 17-inch laptop, if you don’t have any special requirements for the ability to play on it.

HP

250 G5-W4M85E.A.. About 25,000 rubles. For this money, a FullHD screen, M.2 connector, although not the latest i3 5005U processor, 4 GB of memory, no OS. A good option as a preparation for an upgrade.

ProBook 450G4-Y8A52E.A.. About 30,000 rubles. An interesting option with an i3 7100U processor, 4 GB of memory, without an OS and a discrete card. Considering the possibility of expanding RAM and installing an SSD in the M.2 slot, you can get a quite productive machine, although not intended for games. There are modifications with more powerful processors.

ProBook 470 G3-W4P87EA. About 35,000 rubles. 17 inches with HD+ resolution, a rather weak i3 6100U processor, although the discrete video card is not gaming, but not bad as a basis for an upgrade. There is M.2, 4 GB of memory installed, no OS.

Pavilion 15-au107u. About 46,000 rubles. FullHD screen, i5 7200U, 6 GB of memory, GeForce 940MX. The only thing that mars the impression is the lack of M.2, but I would like a more powerful video card, it would be a great option. By the way, there is a more powerful option with a card, this is the HP Pavilion 15-bc005ur (X7J02EA), although it does not fit a little into the selected price range, because it costs about 55,000 rubles, but it has an IPS matrix, a full-fledged i5 6300HQ processor, and a video card GeForce 950M with fast GDDR5 memory. In general, all the signs of a gaming computer.

Lenovo

IdeaPad 310-15 (80ST002WRK). Cost about 30,000 rubles. AMD A12-9700P processor, comparable in performance to Intel i3-6100U, built-in video card, FullHD display, without M.2, Windows 10 installed. In general, can be considered as an option.

V110-15 (80TL00D4RK). Cost about 30,000 rubles. It differs from the previous one in the better i5-6200U processor, but with smaller disk space, only a 1366x768 screen and the absence of an OS.

IdeaPad 300-17 (80QH0000RK). About 39,000 rubles. 17-inch HD+ screen, i5-6200U processor, weak R5 M330 graphics card, 4 GB and Windows 10. In my opinion, it does not justify its price, even taking into account the screen size. The lack of M.2 is also not an advantage.

IdeaPad 510-15 (80SR00B5RK). About 42,500 rub. FullHD screen, i5 6200U, GeForce 940MX, 6 GB of memory. It’s not quite up to par with a gaming laptop, but it’s a pretty decent configuration. The presence of an M.2 connector adds points to this model. Among the “goodies” is the keyboard backlight. There are modifications with more powerful processors, including the 7th generation. The price increases by 2-2.5 thousand.

MSI

MSI GL62 (6QE-1699X). About 48,000 rubles. A very tempting offer with many advantages, including a full-fledged CPU i5-6300HQ, FullHD screen, GeForce 950M, M.2, even a USB Type-C connector. The model may well be called a gaming model, for quite reasonable money.

Bottom line

I’ll put everything in a table, noting the optimal configuration, in my opinion, and distribute the selected models according to the degree of approximation to this optimum. I will divide all laptops into 2 classes:

Built-in video card or discrete GeForce 920M class (AMD R5-330 and similar), the presence of an M.2 connector and a price not exceeding 35,000 rubles.

The second class is more powerful computers that are already close to gaming ones, and more than fulfill all the requirements for speed and the ability to work with quite resource-intensive applications. Requirements – FullHD screen, M.2 connector, GeForce 950M class video card and price within 50,000 rubles.

Conclusion. Which laptop is best to buy for home use in 2017

I tried to do an analysis by choosing models that would best answer the question of which laptop is best to buy for the home. Of course, covering all possible modifications is a difficult task, and I don’t pretend to be the absolute truth, but you can always choose exactly the configuration that best suits the requirements. With or without a pre-installed OS, with 4, 6 or 8 GB of memory, with one processor or another...

Due to the design features of laptops (laptops), the possibility of upgrading them during operation is less than that of a desktop computer.

Therefore, their choice must be approached especially responsibly. The area of ​​application of the purchased home laptop is decisive.

A device for navigating the Internet and working with office programs may have modest technical characteristics (see). If the user is an avid gamer, or his work is related to graphics programs, then the parameters of the laptop should be significantly higher.

The characteristics of the laptop are encrypted in the name. In a computer store, a user, next to a laptop he likes, sees something like this: Acer Aspire 8930G-464G50Mikk:

• Acer– name of the manufacturing company (they will be discussed below);
• Aspire– models aimed at home users (unlike the TravelMate business series and Extensa compromise models);
• first digit 8 means a screen diagonal of 18 inches (similarly, 5 means 15 inches, 9 means 19, etc.);
• 930 – serial number of the series;
• letter G– model with a discrete video card (absent or letter Z – the video card is built into the motherboard);
• the first two digits after the hyphen are the symbol for the Core i5 processor 46 0M;
• 4G– amount of RAM in Gigabytes (GB);
• 50 – symbol of hard disk capacity in 50 0 GB;
• letter M– multi-drive for both DVDs and CDs;
• letter i– the model contains a Wi-Fi adapter supporting the 802.11g standard;
• kk– symbol of the color of the lid and working area Blac k– Blac k.

As you can see, the main technical characteristics of laptops include:

• processor parameters;
• amount of random access memory (RAM);
• video system parameters;
• hard disk volume (hard drive);
• means of communication.

CPU

As a rule, modern laptops are equipped with dual-core processors from Intel or AMD (see). The former work faster and are preferable for office work and browsing the Internet.

AMD processors in laptops without a separate video card have better graphics performance.

Intel processors in laptops are divided into budget Celeron, mid-range Pentium and powerful Intel Core. The average user will be quite satisfied with the first two lines. Intel Core processors are chosen for increased requirements for a laptop.

Memory

It is believed that there is no such thing as too much memory - the more, the better. 4 GB can be considered the optimal value. You can purchase a laptop with 2 GB with the prospect of adding additional modules in the free sockets (slots) in the future. This seemingly economical option is not recommended even for advanced users. Laptop memory slots are not nearly as accessible as those on a desktop computer.

Modern laptops are equipped with DDR3 RAM modules of different frequencies. The higher this value, the more productive the device.

Video system

The laptop video system consists of a video card and a monitor screen. In turn, video cards can be built-in (integrated) and external (discrete) (see).

Integrated graphics cards are built into the motherboard or processor. Strictly speaking, this is not a video card, but built-in video logic. She uses shared memory without having her own. Advantages of an embedded solution compared to an external one:

• low price;
• minimum sizes;
• low power consumption.

Flaws:

• low productivity;
• low image quality;
• RAM consumption.

A discrete video card, unlike an integrated one, has everything necessary for operation within a separate board.

It has its own processor, video memory, cooling fan (see) and a signal converter supplied to the monitor. Purchasing a laptop with an expensive external video card is justified only if there are increased requirements for the device.

The main characteristics of the screen are the diagonal size and resolution. The first parameter is inversely proportional to the size and weight of the laptop. Here, to select, a clear idea of ​​the operating conditions of the purchased device is sufficient.

The higher the resolution, the better the picture and the higher the price. The FullHD (1920*1080) standard, familiar to modern TVs and desktop computer monitors, is implemented in expensive laptops with a large (17–19 inches) screen diagonal.

Monitor screens have a glossy or matte finish. The first option prevails. It looks good in a store, but is critical to the position of the screen and viewing angle of the picture when working outside the home.

Laptops in the high price segment are equipped with matte screens that do not reflect everything around them, like a mirror.

Hard drive

Of course, the large capacity of the hard drive allows the user not to limit himself in installing many programs and storing large amounts of information. However, with the development of the Internet, it has become possible to do a lot of things online. The optimal volume is considered to be 500 GB.

Communication means

The laptop you purchase must be equipped with modern means of communication. In addition to the required network card, almost all models are equipped with Bluetooth for communication with a smartphone.

The Wi-Fi adapter will provide connection to a wireless network in those many places where it is available. It is desirable that this adapter operates according to the modern high-speed 802.11n standard. The modem will allow you to communicate with the outside world via a telephone line (see).

It is advisable that the laptop have at least 3 USB ports, not necessarily high-speed version 3.0 (it is not in great demand yet).

Battery life

An important parameter of laptops is battery life. This time is directly proportional to the battery capacity and inversely proportional to the power and operating mode of the laptop. The technical specifications indicate an overestimated value.

At the beginning of operation, the laptop can work autonomously for 4–6 hours, later this time decreases, especially when working for a long time in an almost discharged state.

Laptop manufacturers

Which manufacturer should you prefer with the same technical characteristics? By purchasing products from a well-known manufacturer, the buyer, on the one hand, increases the likelihood of uninterrupted operation, and on the other hand, overpays for the brand (this especially applies to Sony and Apple companies).

The companies Lenovo, Acer, Asus, HP, Toshiba, Samsung, Dell have a good reputation, for which the sale of laptops is one of the main activities.

It is believed that in terms of price-quality ratio, the best laptops are produced by Asus. Acer and Lenovo devices are called the most productive (see.

Choosing a laptop is quite a difficult task for the average user. When choosing a laptop, you must proceed from the conditions in which you will use it. Which characteristics can be neglected, and which ones need special attention? Let's take a closer look at how to choose a laptop for home use.

Manufacturer's choice

You shouldn't expect too high quality from Chinese crafts and nameless companies. Although some models really deserve attention, they are an order of magnitude behind the products of corporate “monsters”.

In order to decide on a brand, check out.

What should the technical specifications be?

If everything is quite simple with the brand, then with various internal components it is more complicated. The most important points to pay attention to:

• CPU
• video card
• RAM
• hard drive capacity (hard drive)
• hard drive memory type

Processor parameters

The processor is the central device of a laptop, on which its performance largely depends, so it is important to choose it carefully. When choosing a processor, you need to rely on the following parameters:

• Manufacturer
• Number of cores
• Frequency

Which manufacturer is better?

In the world of processors, there is an eternal confrontation between two giants - Intel and Amd. You could talk for a very long time about the difference between the processors of these two manufacturers, but it would take several more pages, so we have prepared a special one for you.

How many cores should there be?

Processors with two cores (the most common of them are Intel Pentium and AMD (model A4 and A6)) are ideal for watching movies, surfing the Internet and office documents.

If the laptop will be used as a gaming laptop, then you need to choose models with 4 cores or more.

You should not opt ​​for a laptop with an Intel Atom or AMD E-series processor, since even the most ordinary browser will slow down. These types were specifically created for netbooks that were released a few years ago.

Intel Core series processors deserve special attention, namely the Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 models. There are models with two and four cores. Their advantage is multi-threaded data processing, which means higher operating speed.

What should the processor frequency be?

The frequency, depending on the exact model, ranges from 2.1 to 4 GHz. High frequency and multi-threading create optimal conditions for working with various photo and video editors, as well as for games. In order to decide on the parameter you need, read the following.

Video card

The choice of video card manufacturers for laptops is small:

• Nvidia GeForce;
• ATI (from AMD);
• Intel.

Here it is worth paying attention to what type of video card it is: integrated (part of the processor and has low performance) or discrete (a separate board that works independently and can easily handle 3D graphics processing). For games and working with video editors, the second type is more suitable.

Video memory capacity

The choice of video memory will directly depend on how you will use the laptop. To work with office documents and the Internet, up to 1 gigabyte of memory inclusive will be enough.

If you like to play, then you need at least 2 GB. This volume is due to the fact that, with the same model, desktop PCs and laptops differ significantly in performance. In the latter they are much inferior.

Hard disk memory capacity

The volume of the internal storage will determine how many movies, photos, music, documents and various files you can store on your laptop.

You also need to pay attention to the presence of a solid state drive (SSD). It significantly increases the cost of the laptop, but having such a disk will help significantly speed up the operation of the laptop.

RAM

Each open tab in Google Chrome consumes about 50 megabytes of RAM, not to mention programs and games that can take up 1.5-2 GB of RAM in a matter of minutes. For a laptop used for work, 2-4 GB is enough, for gaming – from 6 GB.

External interfaces

There is no point in talking about the presence of a USB port, since at least one connector is present on any laptop, but it is worth paying attention to the presence of an HDMI output. It allows you to display an image from a laptop monitor to a TV, or connect another device with an HDMI input (monitor, projector, etc.)

Choosing a laptop for work and home is a rather difficult task, since it is worth considering not only external data, but also the internal characteristics of the device.

Computers have long become an integral part of our lives. They accompany us in everything - business, creativity, leisure. It is not surprising that such a device as a laptop was invented. The opportunity to have a computer outside the home looks very tempting. However, many are thinking about completely replacing their “home” desktop computer with its portable brother. This desire is understandable. Desktop computers take up a lot of space and require special furniture and components. In this article we will look at all the intricacies of choosing a laptop for the home.

When choosing a laptop for your home, you should focus on the ratio of cost and configuration of the model.

The concept of a “home” laptop is very ambiguous. For some, this is a leisurely machine for office work and access to the Internet; for others, it is a “beast” that can handle the latest computer games. Due to such different requirements, problems with choice arise. We strongly recommend that you think carefully about the purposes for which you are purchasing a home laptop. And also, do not forget that a laptop computer is an expensive pleasure, and the higher the level of requirements for the machine, the higher the price will be.

If you go to a computer store unprepared, there is a high probability of making a useless purchase. Which laptop is better to choose?

Specifications

Technical specifications are everything to us. It will be difficult for a person who is far from computer technology to grasp such a large amount of information at once. However, this must be done, otherwise you risk wasting money.

Computer stores, as a rule, do not list all the technical characteristics of a laptop. Therefore, before going to the store, we strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with them through online stores. This way you will receive more detailed information about the car, which will help you make an informed choice. Another advantage of choosing a laptop at home rather than in a store is that you will decide on a specific model and go buy a specific laptop.

You'll start getting acquainted with the laptop's hardware with a large list of characteristics - we'll talk about them below.

Type

This characteristic doesn’t appear that often anymore, but if you see it, don’t be alarmed. She will tell you what exactly is in front of you - a laptop or a netbook. If you are choosing a machine for your home, it is better to ignore netbooks. These are weak, compact machines designed to be carried around. They have already been almost completely ousted from the market by a more practical device - a tablet.

operating system

Pay attention to this characteristic. As a rule, laptops have the Windows OS (operating system) preinstalled (unless we are talking about a MacBook). However, sometimes there are laptops with Linux or DOS installed. You should not be afraid of this - on the contrary, if you buy a laptop with these OSs, you will save a lot.

The fact is that the equipment sold is always installed with a licensed version of the software (software), which is included in the price of the laptop, while DOS and Linux are distributed free of charge. You will pay one-time for the OS as much as a license would cost you, so it will be much more profitable to purchase it yourself. However, if your time is valuable and you don’t have a lot of money, feel free to buy a machine with Windows.

CPU

Without exaggeration, we can say that the processor is the heart of the laptop. We will not go into details of the “anatomy” of the processor - there is no point in that. Let's talk about what will help you choose the right laptop. In the realities of today's computer market, it is worth talking about only two manufacturers - Intel and AMD.

There is a fundamental difference between them, and you should choose based on your wishes. Intel is more “fast”, well suited for everyday work and surfing the Internet. AMD is slower, but usually has a more powerful integrated video processor. If you don't mind relaxing with a computer game from time to time, then AMD is for you.

Intel

Intel processors can be roughly divided into three categories - weak, medium and powerful. All Celeron series processors can be considered weak. Laptops with these processors are suitable for leisurely work and searching for information on the Internet. You can't ask for more from them. If you spend most of the day at a computer, we recommend avoiding these processors.

The middle ones include Pentium series processors. More powerful than Celeron and quite sufficient for everyday work. When choosing a laptop for your home, we recommend that you consider machines starting with Pentium.

Powerful ones include Intel Core processors. The most productive of all. They will provide you with comfortable work without freezing. If funds allow, then, without a doubt, purchase laptops with a processor from this family.

AMD

With AMD processors it is somewhat simpler. There are E series (E-350, E-450), A4, A6, A8, A10. Laptops with E-series processors can be classified as ultra-budget. We strongly do not recommend buying them, even if you have a very modest budget. By purchasing such a laptop, you will not be able to work on it (even simple work in the browser will take a lot of your nerves). Start considering buying machines with A-series processors.

The last thing I would like to say about processors is the frequency and cache. The higher the frequency, the better, naturally. However, within the series it does not change much and the difference will not be noticeable. The cache, in general, does not change within the series, but the more second-level (L2) and third-level (L3) cache, the better.

RAM

This is one of the most important characteristics that should never be overlooked. The more RAM a laptop has, the more programs and applications it will be able to run simultaneously. For comfortable work in Windows 7 or 8, 4 GB of RAM is enough. We do not recommend purchasing a laptop with a lower rating. RAM will not put a big dent in your pocket, so it makes no sense to save on it.

Modern laptops are equipped with DDR3 memory. When purchasing, pay attention to the number of slots available for RAM. Perhaps in the future you will want to increase its quantity yourself, and the design of the laptop will not always allow you to get to its filling without problems.

Display

The display is one of the most pressing problems of budget laptops. An inconvenient viewing angle and dull colors will not allow you to work at the computer for a long time. Laptop monitors are divided into two types: matte and glossy.

• Glossy displays reflect absolutely everything from their surface. You can look in them like in a mirror - especially if it's cheap gloss. But there is also a plus - due to the gloss, the colors on the monitor look advantageous and rich. They are very pleasant to watch movies and images, provided that there are practically no sources of bright light in the room.
• Matte displays, on the other hand, do not reflect from their surface. This allows you to work on them comfortably without straining your eyes.

Unfortunately, there's little to recommend here. Practice has shown that the quality of the display does not depend on the price of the laptop. The only option is to come to the store and see everything with your own eyes. Don’t hesitate to ask the sales consultant to demonstrate the display - it’s better to sort this issue out on the spot than to suffer from a bad purchase.

Graphically controller

There are two types of graphics controllers in laptops: integrated (built-in) and discrete. Their prices are very different. Laptops with a discrete graphics controller are rare and usually cost more than 100 thousand rubles. Few people can afford such a car, and, let's be honest, such power is not needed for everyday use. These laptops can be classified as “gaming”, since for other purposes such a powerful video processor is simply useless.

Hard drive

A hard drive has three important parameters: capacity, speed and disk type. Everything is clear with volume - choose according to your needs. Nowadays you are unlikely to find a laptop with less than 500 GB of memory. Speed ​​refers to the speed at which data is written to the disk. The faster the recording, the higher the performance. Today, there are hard drives with speeds of 150–200 Mbit per second and higher.

ADVICE. With the type of disk, everything is somewhat more complicated. There are only two of them - HDD and SSD. We will not go into details, we will just say one thing - SSD is faster and much more expensive than HDD. If the purchase does not put a big dent in your pocket, then feel free to buy an SSD and the system will “fly”. The choice is yours.

Other

To “other” we will include such parameters as: the comfort of the keyboard, the number of USB connectors and the touchpad (TouchPad). These are not very important technical characteristics. The quality of the keyboard will not affect performance in any way, nor will the number of USB connectors.

All this is purely individual, but I would like to recommend not to miss these points when buying a laptop. The reason is that replacing these parts in the future will not be easy and will cost a considerable amount. Therefore, it is better to take care of ease of use in advance.

Conclusion

Above we talked about all the technical characteristics of the laptop, focusing on parameters that are rational for a home laptop. By following these recommendations, you will definitely choose a laptop to your liking.